Florida State football has at times been criticized for its methods in high school recruiting. However, offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach Tim Harris Jr. should hold his head high for the work he has done on the trail.
Coach Harris Jr. had a fantastic 2026 haul, where he grabbed four-star Jasen Lopez, four-star EJ White, four-star Devin Carter, three-star Brandon Bennett, three-star Darryon Williams, and three-star Jonah Winston (rankings via the 247Sports Composite).
The even better news for the Seminoles is that many of these youngsters can develop since Florida State has a productive trio in Duce Robinson, Micahi Danzy, and Jayvan Boggs, which is considered one of the more talented units in the conference.
Jasen Lopez is starting to turn heads around the Florida State coaching staff
Florida State is welcoming in a new quarterback in Ashton Daniels and a clean slate at offensive line, so the adjustment period on offense was bound to happen. Obviously, Florida State knew what they had with Duce Robinson and Micahi Danzy since they combined to have 83 receptions for 1,652 yards and 9 touchdowns in 2025.
The biggest obstacle was the health of Jayvan Boggs, who missed time last year after Duce Robinson viewed him as “an NFL receiver”. That is high praise for a pass catcher. Unfortunately, Boggs missed much of the preseason with an injury. As a result, true freshman wide receiver Devin Carter emerged onto the scene, where he provided a serious threat option for the offense, and there was a thought that he could compete for a starting spot.
It is never that easy in Tallahassee, as it has to come with some sort of adversity, where Carter suffered bruised ribs to begin fall camp and then was injured again a few weeks later with multiple transverse process fractures in his lower back. This has set him back, and the coaching staff is expecting him to miss several weeks.
This is a bummer for a program that had high hopes for the former four-star prospect to emerge as a playmaker in the offense. Fortunately, that has allowed another highly-touted star, Jasen Lopez, to make his mark on the squad.
Lopez can do it all with his two-way athletic ability on the gridiron and the hardwood at Chaminade-Madonna Prep. He made it look easy during his time with basketball and football, where he averaged 24.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 4 steals; then the star had 319 career catches for 5,350 yards and 61 touchdowns.
The true freshman has not carried that offensive production over to college, as he has not recorded a catch through three games. With the Seminoles playing Central Arkansas this weekend (and being 44.5-point home favorites according to DraftKings Sportsbook), I fully expect Lopez to be more involved in the offensive game plan, whether it will be Ashton Daniels, Malachi Marshall, or Kevin Sperry throwing him the football.
I am anticipating that the South Florida native will get at least two catches against the Bears on Saturday afternoon.